wickedwitchofthewest

Sailed aboard her last two weeks of August. There was nothing about her that would make me cancel a cruise aboard her.

yes there was the odd occasion that we had a sewage smell but nothing major. Internet wifi sucked but again not a major problem. Would happily board her tomorrow for another cruise.

Just got off yesterday after 14 day med cruise.

Toilets still blocking, got regular messages about the 'sensitive' toilet system, occasional sewage smells, which seemed to coincide withe the toilet announcements.

Inside spaces were crowded when weather colder,and open decks and pools very crowded when warm and sunny.

Internet very poor - wifi almost non- existent, and log off problems were experienced by several. The phone app gave up after two days.

Painting and varnishing going on throughout - very little sign of rust and got less throughout. Carpets were a little tired though, probably just need a very good shampooing.

food excellent, though quite a scrum to get food at peak times.

Crew were very friendly and helpful, been quite a few changes over the last couple of weeks, think there were crew changes in most ports.

theatre still very hot and stuffy.

Hope you get better internet access than i did last couple of weeks! Got off Caribbean Princess yesterday the wifi hardly worked for the whole two weeks!. Only able to access the internet once successfully throughout the whole trip. Internet cafe very slow.

Lots of people were mentioning how poor the service was.

Tried the princess app for the on board account - worked intermittently for first two days then gave up completely.

Guess too many people were trying to access the service!

Several people also had trouble with not being able to log out when they thought they had and their minutes being used up, all were reinstated without hassle so guessing the ship knew they had a problem.

I've made purchases every month for about six months prior to each of my last three cruises and they've never put a hold on just processed my debit card for the purchase.

No I was wondering if I gifted £200 to the account before I leave would Princess take that plus put on hold another £200 at the same time. In effect take £400 rather than the £200 I authorised them to.

That's what they did when I pre paid the tips a few days ago.

It has left me with little funds left and now I have to borrow money to pay for the groceries tonight.

I am beginning to doubt they plan on putting it right today as they still have not called me back.

Think somehow princess screwed up. I've never known then take payment for purchasing obc and also put on a hold. Something went wrong here - not usually what happens.

The holds have never been a problem. I wouldn't worry. We do not pay anything in advance. Gratuities? NO. Excursions? NEVER. What is the benefit?

Benefit is a better exchange rate - can mean substantial extra spending cash

Just had this happen to me while pre paying the grats!

I paid with a debit card which has gone through and the "hold" is still there.

It almost took me over drawn and sucked up all the cash I was going to use to Gift Credit myself.

I have NEVER had this happen with anything so i'm really annoyed that they have done it without warning.

I have read on here they do it with Debit cards when they are used for the on board account, but would not expect it for things pre paid.

Sorry but is it legal here in the UK?

I don't own a CC so the debit was the only option. Our Own board account is linked to my husbands C. card which is only used on emergencies and holidays so would never have used that to pay it.

I'm now questioning what will happen when I put the Gift Credit through will they do it again!!!

I've called them to complain and i'm waiting to be called back as I very annoyed, I now have limited funds to get me by till they "give me back what they had no right to take in the first place"

Don't worry - if you bought yourself credit you have already paid for it.

All you will get is a coupon in your cabin (usually your room steward will give it to you) showing how much you have been credited with. It will automatically appear on your on-board account. No need for you to 'put through' anything. No more money will be taken unless you spend more than you have gifted yourself.

Julia

Don't worry about it. You can ignore the passengers who are rude you wont have to see them after the cruise, the crew will bend over backwards to help.

Make sure you ring Southampton and let Princess know you are using a wheelchair, it makes things a little easier as they are pre-warned.

Also you will find that boarding is a little easier.

Are you on the Aug 15 sailing? If so we'll be there too - and my father will be using a mobility scooter to get around. He can walk short distances but finds the scooter much easier.

from previous experience when booking tours would suggest if you can, book privately not use the ship tours as you can tailor them to get you where you want. Also if you use a blue badge - take it with you - you may find it useful if you have private tours booked, the drivers can then use any disabled spots.

That's it maybe I didn't say what my brain was thinking

Was your card loaded in US Dollars ?

 

If it were in Sterling, did Princess give you the option of letting your card firm apply the exchange rate ?

 

Essentially a prepaid card is a debit card and (presumably) it is only "good" to the value preloaded ?

 

That should not be a problem if you've loaded enough to cover your daily spends and ongoing total account.

 

I'm just intereted in how these things work in practice.

The card was in Sterling. Princess treated it in exactly the same way as if i had used my sterling credit card. They let me choose if I wished the charges to be sterling or dollars. It did take a while to drop some of the daily holds off the card but I'd prepaid it with more than enough to cover my spend. (But I believe this can happen with a normal credit card)

And yes you can only spend the amount you have prepaid on it.

Yes you can use prepaid cards for your onboard account - I have used one and they are treated just the same as a credit card. The ship will put the daily holds on in exactly the same way they do your credit card.

Loved the review reminded me of quite a few places.

But i think you fell for the welsh humour! Betwys-y-coed isn't the capital of North Wales.

The only capital in Wales is Cardiff way down south.

Caernarfon over on the coast is more of a capital and then its only a county town.

I prepay my on-board account becouse that way I get more money to spend. Prepaying give me a better exchange rate than just paying the account off at the end.

This trip I get $1.66 to the £ if I prepay if I wait and pay at the end of the cruise I will be paying at a rate of $1.55 to the pound. Also means I wont get any foreign exchange fees. Will be giving me an extra $100 dollars free gratis this next trip!

And what I don't spend I get back.:)

Have done the ust twice, both times got more than the described goodies package, and the crew really outdid themselves with the welcomes in the various departments. Both times the robes were in my cabin on return with the photos and notepads etc arriving the same day.

I would guess something went wrong with the delivery of your goods so hase them up with customer services.

Enjoyed the tour so much I'm signing up to do it again this summer (if Im lucky to make the cut) so far each tour has taken me somewhere different.

Update - I've just spoken to Princess in Southampton and here's what they said -

As long as the lead passenger remains the same we can swap the other name no problem, and if its the lead passenger who can't sail we just get the accompanying passenger swapped to lead passenger first!

So looks like we're going to be OK which ever occurs.

Thanks everyone for your replies:)

Thanks for the info. At least it looks like we will be probably be able to change the passenger. Will speak to princess and see what they say.

Hoping we don't have to change but wanted to cover all angles if the worst happens

I know I've seen a thread relating to this but am completely unable to find it So apologies for asking again.

We sail on-board Caribbean Princess from Southampton in 50+ days and have three cabins booked.

It is possible one of our party may be unable to travel and I wanted to know the following:

1 - If we have someone else to take the space can we swap them

2 - the likely cost for us to do so.

We have passed final payment and all payments have been made. We do have insurance that we can claim on to get the moneys back, but we also have someone who can take the space if we can swap them.

Many thanks for your answers

I'm thinking that the plans for the alterations to tthe Coral may have been postponed as the restrictions on ship size in Venice has changed again. They no longer need to put her in Venice as they can use one of the bigger ships. So maybe this has saved her getting the chop.

Frogemax

Just to show you what you're in for here's a link to my panama trip photos

All 2300 of them!

https://www.flickr.com/gp/45377623@N04/8r815N

You can draw the money out in dollars through the casino on the last night but not sure how you do it. Believe they will put the money back on the card in whatever currency you decide to charge the card in.

You will need to ask if there is a charge for using a credit card as the last couple of times I have done this I have always used my debit card.

Enjoy it - it's a fantastic trip. And when doing the canal transit ensure you get to the front and back decks the views change so much. If you go to the very front of baha deck you will find a 'secret' door which will lead you out onto the front open decks just below the bridge. Great place to view the entry into the locks.

Omit the last 7! That's 0843 374 4444

The phone no for Southampton is 0843 374 4447

The vouchers just show you have been gifted the money. It is already on your on-board account. Any monies left over will be credited to the card you have registered to that account.

This is what happened for me last time.

First Sunday, last Thursday and one day in between. Look for a sea day or short port day. If you're booking once on board the salon will know the formal nights.